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A Project of One’s Own

paulgraham.com

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Re: A Project of One’s Own

#321

Post by vicda »

gonehome wrote: post #171
foobarian wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If only parents were relaxed, if only they knew that their child can live full life without grinding through exercises. Isn't that how young people end up with liberal arts degrees saddled with debt they have little chance of ever repaying? I guess it might be a full life still but I haven't met many people in this position who enjoyed it.

I feel like there’s a middle ground? Encourage the child to do well and be honest about the importance of credentials/marketability of jobs without crushing their spirit? I think the main issue is parents are largely ignorant of what’s important for a new generation - especially when things are undergoing radical technical change. My fiancée is reading Walden - and there are comical similarities to a modern day van l…

There's always the sweet spot, but like almost everything involved with predicting the future you rarely know what that is. So you take an educated guess and do what feels right, and the people you know and the media you consume paint that normal for you. Hopefully you don't have a warped perception, because you won't know under after the damage is done.

Re: A Project of One’s Own

#322

Post by ampdepolymerase »

tomhoward wrote: post #144
ampdepolymerase wrote: post #28

> If I had to choose between my kids getting good grades and working on ambitious projects of their own, I'd pick the projects. And not because I'm an indulgent parent, but because I've been on the other end and I know which has more predictive value. When I was picking startups for Y Combinator, I didn't care about applicants' grades. But if they'd worked on projects of their own, I wanted to hear all about those. T…

Where does it say this? I can't find any mention of anything like this on the application form or FAQs. https://apply.ycombinator.com/app/edit https://www.ycombinator.com/faq/

Under your personal profile: > Schools, Degrees (including field of study), and Years of Graduation

Re: A Project of One’s Own

#324

Post by puchatek »

> It's easy for something new to feel like a project of your own. That's one of the reasons for the tendency programmers have to rewrite things that don't need rewriting, and to write their own versions of things that already exist.

A more positive spin on what i feel is partly also driven by arrogance but I'm happy it's being pointed out. This is a thing and it's big.

Re: A Project of One’s Own

#325

Post by puchatek »

nostromo wrote: post #263
jdmoreira wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Grades don't matter. They matter if you really want to follow the beaten path. Sure, go ahead... join McKinsey or something like that. Being good a learning matters. Being good at executing matters. Being good at communicating matters. Being good at leading matters. Grades and credentials are just gatekeeping invented by people that are worse than talented people. Grades are for status not for wealth and even much le…

Grades correlate with learning ability, executive function, and communication skills. Good grades aren't the goal. Good grades are an indicator other people can use to gauge your preparedness for a job or opportunity.

They are an imperfect indicator for sure but i fear we don't have anything better.

Re: A Project of One’s Own

#326

Post by hanspeter »

idiotsecant wrote: post #184
asadlionpk wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait so how do I 'not-force' my kid into programming these days? Our generation didn't have roblox, youtube and minecraft to distract us much.

Boredom is the mother of curiosity. Take away the dopamine factories and let your kid be bored enough to be interested in learning things.

Ironically, to many kids YouTube is the primary source and inspiration for learning.

I have a kid, and it's an ongoing challenge to limit the screentime. But I'm also impressed by the creative projects and the rapid skill development that sometimes is the result of being glued to the iPad.

Re: A Project of One’s Own

#327

Post by vidarh »

tmp_anon_22 wrote: post #250
brhsagain wrote: post #131

Good essay overall, but this footnote in particular stood out to me: > [2] Tiger parents, as parents so often do, are fighting the last war. Grades mattered more in the old days when the route to success was to acquire credentials while ascending some predefined ladder. But it's just as well that their tactics are focused on grades. How awful it would be if they invaded the territory of projects, and thereby gave the…

> I never told any adults what I was doing until I was nearly an adult myself, out of fear they'd ruin my hobby like they did everything else. I dropped out of college and was ~4 years into a successful career before it clicked with parents and other "adults" of what I had done and what I had "thrown away". Having been through 3 serious tech jobs and dozens of interviews only one company rejected me due to my lack of…

I only went back and did my degree as pure resume stuffing. Did it by distance learning alongside work. Overall it was a security thing - it felt like plugging a minor hole - and I'm still not sure if it was worth the time I invested in it.

Re: A Project of One’s Own

#328

Post by mpfundstein »

GavinMcG wrote: post #40
mpfundstein wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i think you really didn't get the message, did you? maybe read it again, carefully, and then edit your initial post

That comment is entirely unhelpful, and a net negative with the condescension. If you think someone misunderstood, help them by restating the idea in a way you find more understandable.

op can defend himself i guess

second, it was on purpose. i wanted to trigger op to explain his position more. and it worked. he did.

so chill out. not everyones out to get ya

Re: A Project of One’s Own

#329

Post by mpfundstein »

UncleMeat wrote: post #49
mpfundstein wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i think you really didn't get the message, did you? maybe read it again, carefully, and then edit your initial post

I know what PG is saying. And I'm saying that it is stupid and is (consciously or not) part of a larger culture designed to allow owners to extract ever more labor from workers without paying them more. It is so easy for him to make wild decrees about the best way to live, because he happens to hold the keys to the kingdom. Even if I care deeply about projects and software and even entrepreneurship in my own time - t…

he writes that there are two kind of people. one who need to separate work/life aka the worker and the ones where it all belongs together. the skater.

in my understanding, he argues that if you are the former, become the latter and thats the key tk a better life.

now he might not give precise instructions, but knowing PGs work, i assume that path goes through entrepreneurship. i think he even hints at it by writing: be(come) your own boss.

how do you read it?

Re: A Project of One’s Own

#330

Post by approxim8ion »

truetraveller wrote: post #255
approxim8ion wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Glad someone mentioned it. The man is pretty much unanimously worshipped around here but his writing just doesn't resonate with me. It's not just that I don't agree, I think it's possible to appreciate someone's talent without agreeing with it, but it just doesn't feel particularly thought-provoking or insightful to me. That might say more about me than him but it is how it is.

Wow, I truly have a different taste I suppose. Do you like Joel Spolsky's writings?

I hadn't heard of him until your comment. Will reply here after I've done my due diligence, thanks for the recommendation!
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